Getting a Jump on College Coursework
January 1st, 2010 by Susan Kirstein
High school student Alexis Williams is making the difficult decision of where to go to college. While she’s been accepted by the University of Tennessee-Martin, the G.W. Carver High School senior is still keeping her options open and has applied to three other universities. She knows college admission boards are critical. So to make herself stand out in the sea of applicants, she’s loading her schedule with Advanced Placement classes. “AP classes look wonderful on that college application,” she says.
This year, she is taking AP English, statistics, and environmental science, some of the most challenging courses her high school offers. While Williams’ extra-curricular activities include being president of Carver’s school council and a part-time job, she’s still ready to take on the rigors of AP.
“AP is like the real college experience. The work is hard,” she says. “But it is the extra push I need to get to college.”
More students jumping in
Williams is one of many high schoolers nationwide using the AP program to stand out. “There is absolutely a trend of more students taking AP exams each year,” says Jennifer Topiel, executive director of communications for The College Board, the not-for-profit membership association that develops the AP program along with the SAT college admissions test. In Tennessee, the number of students taking AP tests almost doubled this decade, with 10,884 students taking at least one test in 2002 compared to 19,463 students in 2009, according to The College Board. The program currently offers 34 courses, from AP Calculus to AP Art History.
More than 3,600 colleges accept AP exam test scores and most provide credit or advanced placement for qualifying scores. (AP exams are scored on a scale of 1-5 with a qualifying score being 3 or above.) Each course culminates in an AP exam administered in May. Each test costs $86, although in Memphis, if a student qualifies for the free and reduced lunch program, the test is free. As more students sign up for AP, Memphis City Schools (MCS) is making more AP courses available.
Growing AP classes
MCS added 43 AP courses this year, growing from 151 to 194 district-wide, according to Sandy Lewis, AP coordinator for MCS. The goal is to have at least eight AP courses available at each high school. The funding for this push has come from a 2006 AP Incentive Grant of $1.6 million from the U.S. Department of Education, where most of the money goes to professional development for teachers.
AP classes take top honors with colleges, says Lewis. In fact, the number one consideration of college admissions boards is the rigor of a student’s course work, she adds. That rigor is fundamental to improving the city’s high schools says MCS Superintendent Kriner Cash.
Cash says he asked parents and students at town hall meetings about AP courses and was surprised there wasn’t a “resounding yes” demanding more. Parents and students worry that taking AP courses will bring down their GPAs.
“Your GPA will not get you into college — even if a 4.0 — on regular courses,” Cash notes.
“You will still have to take remedial courses before you accrue credit toward graduation…if you come from a weak performing high school.” He also noted that district-wide, AP course offerings were not equal. Some high schools offered 39 courses, others only one. “You have to have equality of educational opportunity,” Cash says.
In order to offer more AP classes, additional teachers must become certified by the College Board. Overton High School teacher Sarah Kron became certified to teach AP psychology, which required taking a course administered by the College Board, then implementing a syllabus, and submitting it to the board for approval. She admits, AP coursework is challenging.
Kron first asks students whether an AP class will fit into their schedule. Students are then assigned a summer project, due at the first week of school. “It lets students know that they are in for an intense class,” she says. It also weeds out students who realize AP may not be for them. Thirty students had originally signed up for her class, but almost half dropped.
Not only do they learn the subject matter in depth, they learn critical thinking skills and how to self-monitor their study habits — important skills for college. An AP class typically covers a greater volume of information, Kron says. “So the pace has to be rapid fire and you’ve got to synthesize the information quickly,” she adds.
Paying for college while in high school
While AP courses push students to excel, they also give them a head start on paying for their college education. Each college sets its own policy on what is awarded, however each passing AP exam score can mean money saved. For example, passing the AP English exam can mean skipping freshman English in college. “Instead of taking remedial classes and wasting money on it in college, students can go in with college credit,” says Clint Jackson, principal of Fairley High School.
Fairley added two AP courses this year and now offers five choices to students. If a student doesn’t pass the AP exam, he won’t reap the financial rewards of gaining college credit, however it can still be rewarding. “Because of the rigor in these classes, even if they didn’t get a passing score, the experience is enriching,” Jackson adds.
Can block scheduling support AP?
The introduction of block-scheduling at high schools this year raised concerns for many parents, since it added two additional classes to student schedules and made class sessions longer. Parent Annette Mastron is angry that classes went from meeting 55-minutes every day to 90-minutes every other day. She worries that teachers and students in AP can’t stay on track in these challenging courses. Her son, a senior at White Station High School, is taking three AP classes this year.
Last year, he took two AP courses, scoring a 5 and 4 on the exams. As a sophomore, he took AP World History and scored a 5. He knows what to expect in these courses, she says, but with block scheduling, he isn’t getting what he needs and is falling behind. Her freshman daughter won’t take AP classes if the school continues with block scheduling.
“We’ll stick with honors classes and won’t attempt AP. It would be setting her up for failure and what’s the point of that?” Mastron says. Block scheduling has actually helped Kron teach her AP class by allowing her to diversify; she says she can now include an activity with her lecture. But block scheduling also hinders consistency. “The every-other-day thing doesn’t work. I need to see these students every day,” she says.
College expectations
For Carver high schooler Williams, adding three AP courses in her senior year was an easy choice. The honors student wants to be prepared for college. Even though as a junior she failed her AP History exam, she is still grateful for the experience. “It gave me a chance to look at the test. I will know what to expect in college,” she says.
AP or IB?
The International Baccalaureate Program is another program for highly motivated students, but there are many differences. As with AP courses, you can gain college credit by completing the IB program, a potential of 24 hours of college credit.
However, in the AP program, you choose from a menu of classes, while the IB Diploma Program is the “whole enchilada,” as Paula Mistretta, IB coordinator at Ridgeway High School puts it.
It includes courses in six academic areas, 150 hours of extra-curricular and community service, plus submitting an extended essay. Ridgeway HS is holding an open house about the IB program Jan 14 at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call Ridgeway at 416-1802.